15 réponses à ce sujet

[EffectedByTheMasses]

 For the majority of ME2 I played as an infiltrator or adept. My first playthrough was a sentinel but I didn't really know how to play to the game's full potential so iirc it was just a lot of shooting and warp.

Now I want to replay my sentinel after reading about it so much on the forums, but. I dislike playing agressively.
Any ideas on builds? 

RIght now I'm considering slam, energy drain or neural shock or dominate on my sentinel, maybe stasis once I download LOTSB. I will probably go with assault rifle, unless anyone can make a good argument for other weapons, and here is my planned build:

Power Armor
Guardian
Area Energy Drain
Throw Field
Heavy Warp
Overload 1

or.

Neural Shockwave
Area Overload
Guardian
Warp 3
Throw 3
Cryo 3
Tech armor 2

One of my builds would be focused on heavy hitting powers, while the other is absolute crowd control. thoughts?

[PseudoEthnic]

Unless you're an assault sentinel, don't bother with Energy Drain. Neural Shock is probably the best power for a Caster Sentinel(Also, it's the only unique power a sentinel has in ME1.) Here's a good build if you want to use bonus powers(A sentinel doesn't really need any bonus power):



Throw: Rank 2

Warp: Rank 4(Unstable)

Tech Armor: Rank 4(Power)

Overload: Rank 4(Area)

Cryo Blast: Rank 1

Passive: Rank 4(Guardian)

Neural Shock: Rank 3



Weapon training: Sniper Rifle



For Assault Sentinels:



Throw: Rank 4(Field)

Warp: Rank 4(Unstable)

Tech Armor: Rank 4(Power)

Overload: Rank 1(Only use when you want to blow up canisters or Pyros)

Cyro Blast: Rank 0

Passive: Rank 4(Raider)

Energy Drain: Rank 4(Area)



Weapon training: Shotgun

[Ares Caesar]

I'm not going to try to suggest an exact build, because I think you've got some ideas already which will suit you best (you're the one playing it), the ONLY advice I will try to offer;

- USE AN AMMO POWER = You already can basically handle most of the protections, and you're already going to have to wait between casts, why overload yourself with too many powers that CANT be used all at once? Ammo power= passive and can be used in conjunction WITH your casting powers. Armor Piercing or Warp Ammo are my suggestions.

I guess my point is, I see too many "casters" (not just sentinels) that want more casting powers... what are you doing between cooldowns? 

Cooldown time= Shoot time -- pull out that ammo powered weapon and unleash hell on the enemy while your cooldown is ticking.

I'm not a big fan of putting ammo powers on squadmates, makes you too dependant upon those few, not to mention it means they have less abilities to help you chain powers with.

Even if you dont fully upgrade the ammo power, it still means a lot more damage for ALL your weapons, and considering you can only cast 1 power at a time, it means there is a lot of free time to shoot, so why not make your shooting more effective, especially since you're already a beast of a caster?

Modifié par Ares Caesar, 02 octobre 2010 - 04:53 .

[mosor]

If playing insanity, always take the assault armor, even on a caster sentinel. The 50% shield boost when the armor explodes is superior than the 15% power damage bonus.

[Kai Hohiro]

Ares Caesar wrote...

I'm not going to try to suggest an exact build, because I think you've got some ideas already which will suit you best (you're the one playing it), the ONLY advice I will try to offer;

- USE AN AMMO POWER = You already can basically handle most of the protections, and you're already going to have to wait between casts, why overload yourself with too many powers that CANT be used all at once? Ammo power= passive and can be used in conjunction WITH your casting powers. Armor Piercing or Warp Ammo are my suggestions.

I guess my point is, I see too many "casters" (not just sentinels) that want more casting powers... what are you doing between cooldowns? 

Cooldown time= Shoot time -- pull out that ammo powered weapon and unleash hell on the enemy while your cooldown is ticking.

I'm not a big fan of putting ammo powers on squadmates, makes you too dependant upon those few, not to mention it means they have less abilities to help you chain powers with.

Even if you dont fully upgrade the ammo power, it still means a lot more damage for ALL your weapons, and considering you can only cast 1 power at a time, it means there is a lot of free time to shoot, so why not make your shooting more effective, especially since you're already a beast of a caster?

I have to disagree with you there. As a Sentinel you'll want to have someone with pull in your party. Your two best choices are Jacob and Jack, which both come with an ammo power.
And an ammo power would probably be the dead last power you want to evolve, since assault armor, passive, warp and Overload/Energy Drain should all have priority.

The power most people take is Energy Drain. Why do that if you already have overload? Because it practically makes you invincible. You only put one point in Overload so you can explode crates and flamers.

And look at the ammo powers. Sure Warp ammo is fine, but you already have Warp to take care of barriers, and it's armor /health damage isn't much better than Jacob's team incendiary ammo. 
And Jacob's team incindiary is also preferable to armor piercing ammo, even if you're running around and blasting people with a shotgun as assault Sentinel, simply because of the CC.

I'm not saying an ammo power is a terrible choice for a Sentinel, but there are overall more useful options.

Modifié par Kai Hohiro, 03 octobre 2010 - 12:48 .

[EffectedByTheMasses]

mosor wrote...

If playing insanity, always take the assault armor, even on a caster sentinel. The 50% shield boost when the armor explodes is superior than the 15% power damage bonus.

This is what I was thinking, especially if I take neural shock as a bonus power which has no damage.

Okay my build is probably going to look something like this:

Assault Armor
Area overload
Guardian
Neural Shockwave
3 Warp
2 Throw
1 Cryo Blast

I personally think that especially for a more passive caster sentinel, neural shock will be more fun than Energy Drain, especially with sniper rifle training or Mattock if/when I download LOTSB to do easy headshots.

[All-a-Mort]

Somewhat oddly I've currently gone for a build that says Assault Sentinel, despite being actually rubbish at assaulting with a shotgun and so ending up doing more cowering behind cover casting. I ignored overload in favour of energy drain as many likely have, as I'd rather have a nice shield buff for when I go on an ill-advised rambo trip than have the exploding stuff bit. Not sure why I chose Heavy warp over unstable, but I've never seen much differance when used really (perhaps I need to pay more attention).



(not at level 30 in this playthrough so not all points gained or spent)

Throw Field

Heavy Warp

Assault Armour

Guardian

Energy Drain



My problem is that since I am prone to getting surrounded and spanked when I do go aggressive and that I couldn't hit a barn door with a shotgun, I wonder whether my 'hiding like a wuss' playstyle suggests I should respec to a more caster friendly setup. Can't see the point in warp ammo though when as a sentinel you have warp anyway.

[Kai Hohiro]

All-a-Mort wrote...

Somewhat oddly I've currently gone for a build that says Assault Sentinel, despite being actually rubbish at assaulting with a shotgun and so ending up doing more cowering behind cover casting. I ignored overload in favour of energy drain as many likely have, as I'd rather have a nice shield buff for when I go on an ill-advised rambo trip than have the exploding stuff bit. Not sure why I chose Heavy warp over unstable, but I've never seen much differance when used really (perhaps I need to pay more attention).

My problem is that since I am prone to getting surrounded and spanked when I do go aggressive and that I couldn't hit a barn door with a shotgun, I wonder whether my 'hiding like a wuss' playstyle suggests I should respec to a more caster friendly setup. Can't see the point in warp ammo though when as a sentinel you have warp anyway.

To be honest in my eyes the best builds for Sentinels, no matter if caster or assault, are more or less identical.
Both setups want Guardian(much better than raider) and Assault armor(it's just so much better especially on higher difficulties than power armor). And Energy Drain is a solid bonus power for both setups as well.

To me the only real difference is what powers to evolve first, the level30 build is identical in both cases.

Modifié par Kai Hohiro, 03 octobre 2010 - 11:23 .

[Miths]

I'm also trying to play a caster Sentinel at the moment - although here five hours in I've yet to try Insanity difficulty, as I find most of the larger fights last more than long enough for my taste on Hardcore.



I really like the methodical cover based shooter mechanics, so all the crazy run and gun videos I've seen with various classes - including the shotgun wielding "assault sentinel" - generally aren't my thing.

My Sentinel is level 11 at the moment, and my current build is as follows:



2 Throw

1 Warp (I didn't actually put a point into Warp until I was level 9, which made me feel rather inefficient against armored opponents in some of the earlier missions, and perhaps with a few less than optimal squad choices)

2 Tech Armor

2 Overload

1 Cryo Blast

4 Defender (Guardian)

1 Warp Ammo (been trying out various bonus powers, don't think I'll stick with this one)



Overload has been constantly useful, I love Cryo Blast if for no other reason than shattering opponents always puts a smile on my face , and neither Throw nor Warp have really been put to optimal use yet, but I plan on having a squad member with Pull Field tag along on most future missions (probably Jack, I haven't really used her in my previous playthroughs).



Tech Armor has pretty much solely served as additional shielding so far, making it a bit easier to run between cover positions, or poke my head out for longer Locust bursts.

I think I can count on one hand the number of times the energy pulse has actually proven useful, as I'm rarely close enough to enemies.

[RGFrog]

I think the only time you should take Power Armor is when you are also using the Dragon Age armor so that you get 30% to all powers (tech, biotic, ammo). Then take ED and you'll rarely see your power armor drop. With ED overload is best at 1 point for the reasons Kai details.

The real deal is that with a Sentinel, you really can't put together a bad build as long as you max tech armor. That's the class's saving grace. With that maxed you can pretty much go aggressive, go caster, or mix it up. Just make sure you have enough eezo to pick new bonus powers and respec until you find your sweet spot.

Sadly, half the game or more will be over before then, so the best advice may be to do all the side missions you can so you get to lvl 30 asap.

[Jubal Harshaw]

Ares Caesar wrote...

I'm not going to try to suggest an exact build, because I think you've got some ideas already which will suit you best (you're the one playing it), the ONLY advice I will try to offer;

- USE AN AMMO POWER = You already can basically handle most of the protections, and you're already going to have to wait between casts, why overload yourself with too many powers that CANT be used all at once? Ammo power= passive and can be used in conjunction WITH your casting powers. Armor Piercing or Warp Ammo are my suggestions.

I guess my point is, I see too many "casters" (not just sentinels) that want more casting powers... what are you doing between cooldowns? 

Cooldown time= Shoot time -- pull out that ammo powered weapon and unleash hell on the enemy while your cooldown is ticking.

I'm not a big fan of putting ammo powers on squadmates, makes you too dependant upon those few, not to mention it means they have less abilities to help you chain powers with.

Even if you dont fully upgrade the ammo power, it still means a lot more damage for ALL your weapons, and considering you can only cast 1 power at a time, it means there is a lot of free time to shoot, so why not make your shooting more effective, especially since you're already a beast of a caster?

I, on the other hand, don't really see the point of a caster class taking an ammo power; as it is they already have too many abilities competing for points. Ammo powers are not really worth the points unless you max them out as  you have so many squad mates that can provide an ammo bluff.  (half the squad have an ammo bluff, now granted it's really only 4 because I don't think Shredder should count, and maxing out Grunts ammo means cutiing into his tank abilities, but still )  it seems redudent to get one yourself. those 10 points, which is the only way it makes it better to have one yourself, are better spent somewhere else.

it also doesn't really cut into the chaining of abilities, really.    A pull-throw or a pull-warp only requires a level one pull, which for Jacob maxing the ammo doesn't effect his build, and for Jack maxing ammo means you split between shockwave and pull.  Everyone elase you can chain with, minus Thane, doesn't have an Ammo power.

personally,  I prefer useful one point skills, like stasis or neural shock on caster classes.

[Kaylord]

Almost finished now a Sentinel playthrough on insanity. I kept to being a caster sentinel, since I wanted a zero-death playthrough. (Didn´t work out, too many real life distractions happened)

I took Stasis as bonus power. I used it rarely, but to great effect. Best moment was ellbow-ing a geth prime to death. :>

I would have wished for a ammo power sometimes, when I got bored of Jacob. Samara still is the best choice for biotics, and I liked to have a warp-able partner for her, because it makes faster warplosions. Fastest: Me overload, Jacob pull, Miranda warp. In those cases I was left without an ammo power, except for if you go with Miranda and Jacob.

[RGFrog]

Jubal Harshaw wrote...
I, on the other hand, don't really see the point of a caster class taking an ammo power; as it is they already have too many abilities competing for points.

I have to disagree. Warp ammo is a boon to the Sentinel. At any rank it's going to do extra damage to everything that the Shuriken/Tempest has a weakness against.

As has been said before, it has no cooldown to deal with and gives you a boost to what you are doing between the seconds you wait for another cast to become available.

Sure you could wait for your warp cast to be available. And you could wait for someone's pull/singularity/etc. to be available for your warp bomb... but in the mean time, you could also be shooting something. Especially on Insanity when you MUST strip defenses, it's either take an ammo power that allows you to do that all the time, or take a stripping bonus power that you can only use once every few seconds.

On insanity, especially before I get any real upgrades as in after Horizon aka for 1/4 or more of the game, I want something that's going to do some extra good when added to what I'm already doing: shooting things until I can make them magically delicious!

[rumination888]

mosor wrote...

If playing insanity, always take the assault armor, even on a caster sentinel. The 50% shield boost when the armor explodes is superior than the 15% power damage bonus.

The 15% damage bonus is the difference between an Unstable Warp blowing away fully barriered enemies in a 7 yard radius, or leaving them with a sliver of barrier left without the knock down. You'll need to pick raider over guardian, too.

It also helps you reach a threshold with Heavy Warp that allows you to knock down fully shielded enemies in a 5 yard radius. But only for a certain timeframe within the game, since enemy health/protection scales with your level.

Oh, and the power damage increase affects ammo powers as well.
Power Armor + Raider + Blood Dragon Armor + Tungsten Ammo = +101.5% damage.

Modifié par rumination888, 05 octobre 2010 - 08:17 .

[kiltysue]

There are many ways to have lots of fun running a caster

sentinel through. Watch a few videos, however, it seems

many currently equate "fast efficient runs" with fun.

Certainly, that can be the case.



It's also "fun" to run insanity with other priorities. My favorite

for caster sentinel is a freeze/heavy throw build. Basically,

you strip defenses (super fast for caster sentinel builds), use

freeze, and squad pull abilities to fling enemies all over the

map.



Someone early on posted some good videos of that kind of

play. Doesn't seem popular recently though.

[Jubal Harshaw]

RGFrog wrote...

Jubal Harshaw wrote...
I, on the other hand, don't really see the point of a caster class taking an ammo power; as it is they already have too many abilities competing for points.

I have to disagree. Warp ammo is a boon to the Sentinel. At any rank it's going to do extra damage to everything that the Shuriken/Tempest has a weakness against.

As has been said before, it has no cooldown to deal with and gives you a boost to what you are doing between the seconds you wait for another cast to become available.

Sure you could wait for your warp cast to be available. And you could wait for someone's pull/singularity/etc. to be available for your warp bomb... but in the mean time, you could also be shooting something. Especially on Insanity when you MUST strip defenses, it's either take an ammo power that allows you to do that all the time, or take a stripping bonus power that you can only use once every few seconds.

On insanity, especially before I get any real upgrades as in after Horizon aka for 1/4 or more of the game, I want something that's going to do some extra good when added to what I'm already doing: shooting things until I can make them magically delicious!

you only need to be level 6 or so to depend on either Jacob or Zaeed for an ammo boast; early game you need to be investing everything in armor and class skill. and all other skills take priority over ammo in my mind.  you would need to sink 6 points in warp ammo to get a comparable benefit to reling on the squad. it's just not worth the points when you have two squad mates, right from the start, that can provide the extra boast to begin with.


  I'm not suggesting that you just hang back and wait for warp to cooldown; I'm suggesting that you make squad points work for you. every point in ammo is a point not in a casting ability and unless you invest heavily in ammo you get a better bluff from the squad.

on sentinels I always think you should use energy drain until you get post-horizon,  as it saves you a point that doesn't need to go into overload.

(I assuming the person isn't playing a NG+, because that's a different matter)

As an aside,  if you rush to Horizon, it's under a 1/4 of the total gameplay.

a 1/4 of the squard have ammo powers that can be readily used.

Modifié par Jubal Harshaw, 05 octobre 2010 - 09:00 .